SINGLE No. 50 Cts. 



FULL SET $2.00. 





^'^ xGt 




«^ 



THIRTY- FIYE YEARS 



OF 



RIFLE PRACTICE 



1851-1886. 



IN SIX PARTS 



By C. D. WESTBROOK, 

Late Lt.-Col. 120th Regt., N. Y. S. V., and late Col. and 
Chief of Staff 5th Diy., N. G. S. of N. Y. 



part I. 



KINGSTON, N. Y. : 

FREEMAN BRANCH OFFICE PRINT. 
1886. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1888, by C. D. West- 
brook, in the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 






PREFACE. 



Books have multiplied so greatly, and fresh books are so constantly- 
required to keep up with yearly acquisitions of knowledge, especially in 
the industrial arts, that a rigid course of selection is enforced upon every 
reader. Leaving out of view books which are intrinsically worthless, 
there are so many branches and ramifications of any given subject as to 
require many different books under the same general title. There are 
also different classes of readers to whom the same subject must be pre- 
sented in different ways. Therefore it is that something more than a 
title is required to convince a reader that he has any interest in a book. 
Thus a preface is in order. 

The rifle engages comparatively a small department of human in- 
dustry, and one of late development-, yet so great has been the power 
wielded by its aid on the destiny of nations, that all men are called upon 
to know something of its use. This great Republic is stirred to-day by 
the danger to which its maritime cities are exposed, of attack by 
armored vessels and rifled guns owned by insignificant nations, who may 
even use them for piratical purposes. The lessons of our civil war seem 
to have been forgotten. After the commencement of that war, imme- 
diate demands were made by the Government on a private foundry for 
rifled cannon, two batteries of which were first introduced into service 
by the army at the battle of Bull Run. In the navy, at the time of the 
attack upon Fort Sumter, in April, 1861, there was not a single rifled 
cannon of heavy calibre, or a single armored vessel. In the language of 
chief of ordnance Dahlgren, "the millions since spent by the country 
would not bring back the years that had gone by unimproved, and we 
went into the conflict like a man picking up the first weapon at hand." 

But there is another reason for addressing the public generally. In 
almost every house there is a fire-arm of some kind, and rifles without 
number have been scattered broadcast through the country, and are kept 
on hand ostensibly for the purposes of defense and game, though rarely 
used for either purpose. The knowledge which is sought to be com- 
municated in this book will enable owners to utilize these weapons, far 
beyond the original designs of their manufacturers, in healthful recrea- 
tion and important training, especially for the younger members of the 
household. Many futile attempts have been made in this country to 
organize a militia upon whom dependence could be placed to resist 



IV 

invasion, but could the result be reached to which these pages are 
directed, a reserve force would be provided, greater even than armed, 
camps could furnish. 

This treatise is then directed mainly to the masses ; but, at the same 
time, manufacturers and experts could doubtless find something to learn 
from its pages, because they follow a line which has not been taken up 
in any other work, and embody thirty-five years of experience of an 
amateur, who has loved his weapon as well as any artist ever loved his 
pencil, or musician his instrument. 

Kingston, N. Y., January 8th, 1886. 

C. D. WESTBROOK. 



INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 



Although more than three hundred and fifty years have 
■elapsed since the discovery of rifled lire -arms, yet it is within 
the last thirty-five years that improvements were effected in 
their use, which have made them not only the arm of all 
nations, but the only arm, whether small or great, on which 
reliance is placed. . 

It is worthy of remark that these improvements have been 
mainly attained through the cartridge ; for, although the 
-quick twist and shallow groove of the modern rifle are unde- 
niable advantages, yet the former was not wholly unknown 
at the commencement of the period alluded to, while, in 
regard to the latter, it may be said that long range and 
accuracy had been obtained prior to its adoption. The 
brass cartridge, lengthened projectile, and large charge of 
powder, sum up, in a few words, the chief improvements 
which have been made. By their use, the breech-loader has 
been transformed from a nuisance to be the king of arms. 

We may follow these improvements, as they have been 
developed in European practice, from the bullets of Delvigne 
and Minie, to those of Whitworth, Jacobs, and Metford ; 
and, indeed, it will be necessary so to do in the course of this 
treatise ; but it is the writer's intention to deal mainly with 
the results of American practice, as they have come under 
his own observation and experience, during the last thirty-five 
years. As many of the most important of these results have 
not been placed upon record, with a statement of the means 
by which they have been attained, it has been deemed proper, 
at this time, to offer them to the public. 

Again, great as have been the results obtained by the use 
of improved weapons, during the European wars of the last 



b THIRTY-FIVE YEARS 

decades, still greater are the possible achievements in warfare- 
offered by the experiments of the four years which have 
attended and followed the international contests, with mili- 
tary rifles, between this country and England. The needle- 
gun, which so materially assisted Germany in her conquests,, 
together with the Mauser, which subsequently replaced it ; 
the Peabody Martini, which astonished Europe with its long 
range and deadly slaughter in the Russo-Turkish war, and 
the Martini-Henry, which so easily vanquished larger op- 
posing forces of Egyptians and Arabs, would prove to be 
almost puerile weapons, when pitted with the cartridges they 
then used, against the same weapons it may be, or certainly 
against many weapons which have been in common use for 
years, when supplied with the cartridges which can now be 
furnished to them. 

The improved shooting of the champion military rifles at 
Creedmoor justifies this inference. Their methods of loading,, 
however, are not upon record, and the public very generally 
believe that the excellent shooting, of which they hear, is due 
to the use of a rifle of superior excellence, or to a training 
through years of experience, aided by exceptional natural 
advantages. Such was, undoubtedly,, the view taken by the 
public of the extraordinary performances of the match rifle 
teams sent to Ireland some ten years since. But subsequent, 
experience has convinced hundreds and thousands that 
equal, and even better shooting, was attainable with rifles,, 
furnished by a score of manufacturers, with factory car- 
tridges. To obtain such shooting, however, with self-loaded 
cartridges and self-fabricated bullets, is not quite so easy ; 
and to turn these elegant match rifles to practical use, or to 
obtain practical shooting, for the sportsman or soldier, of 
equal nicety from them, or from sporting or military rifles,, 
seems to be out of the question altogether, to the public 
generally. And yet it is hoped that, from a perusal of these 
pages, such results can be attained. 

"We have alluded to two international contests between 
this country and Eugland. The first was in 1877, when 
match rifles were used. The second was in 1882, and again 
in 1883, when military rifles were used. 

The difference between these international contests is not 
well understood. 



OF EIFLE PRACTICE. / 

A discussion of this difference now, though chronologically 
out of place, may serve to clear up some difficulties, and 
secure a closer attention to historical details throughout this 
treatise. 

In the former of these contests we were victors, and in the 
excellence of our weapons and the superiority of our marks- 
men, still continue to hold the championship of the world. 
In the latter, we have been beaten by England ; and the 
reason simply was that we had cultivated the match rifle and 
neglected the military rifle. In England, military rifles have 
always received the chief attention. 

Leaving out, for the present, the definition which is given 
of these rifles at Creedmoor and Wimbledon, we will take 
them up in a non-professional way. 

In the first place, there is a specific difference between 
these rifles ; and in the next place, there is a still greater 
difference between the methods of using them. 

1st. Although the weapons do not vary more than half a 
pound in the weight to which the}^ are restricted, yet, in the 
match rifle, there is a maximum of weight in the barrel and 
a minimum of weight in the stock, leaving the latter, par- 
ticularly in its connection with the barrel, of too light a 
weight safely to endure the shocks of military usage. For 
the purpose of fine sighting, it has also so large a bulk of 
material on the end of its barrel, for its forward sight, as to 
prevent the proper clasp of the bayonet, while its long and 
slender back sights would not long endure military usage. 

Per contra, we have in the military rifle, stocks sufficiently 
strong for military purposes, which permit the use of a sling, 
and extended over the length of the barrel, nearly to the head 
of the bayonet, providing for the carriage of both sling and 
ramrod, and protecting the hands in the use of a heated 
barrel, which was of more consequence while muzzle loading- 
was practiced than at present. The pull of its trigger is to 
be double that of the match rifle, and its sights to be of bona 
fide military pattern, to be attached to the barrel, and to be 
without any movable attachment other than a hinged flap 
and sliding bar, to be moved by hand only. 

Although the barrel of a match rifle will spring under the 
concussion of the heavy charges used in modern cartridges., 
yet, paradoxical as the statement may appear, the spring 



8 THIRTY-FIVE YEARS 

which it has under the concussion of firing is a real 
advantage over the performance of a heavier rifle in the 
contests of the range. As this statement needs explanation, 
for the comprehension not only of the public, but also of a 
great many marksmen, it is well to clear up the matter 
before proceeding further with the comparison of match with 
military rifles. 

If we examine the back sight of a match rifle, we shall 
find it marked with sub-divisions, which almost universally 
are one of only two kinds. It is either marked with twenty 
divisions to an inch, which is multiplied by a vernier attach- 
ment to one hundred divisions of the inch, or else it is 
marked by degrees and minutes, which, if the back sight is 
placed upon what is called the tang (which is not far behind 
the lock of the gun, and three feet distant from the front 
sight), would represent pretty accurately the angles of eleva- 
tion. The marks upon the sight are for every five minutes 
of elevation, reduced by the vernier to every minute of 
elevation. 

Thus, in the one kind of back sight, we have practically 
100 sub-divisions to the inch, and in the other we have 
somewhat over 90 to the inch. 

Now, either of these sights, whether standing upon what 
is called the tang of the piece (which places it about three 
feet from the front sight), or whether fastened upon the butt 
of the piece (which is almost four feet from the front sight), 
has an actual value of elevation upon the target, at any dis- 
tance, from one to one thousand yards, or more, which is 
readily calculated. 

For instance, the sight upon the tang which is marked 
with hundredths of an inch, would have the value of eleva- 
tion, for each hundredth, at 100 yards, of one inch, and at 
1,000 yards of ten inches. Each minute of the other sight 
would have a value of elevation upon the tang of 1.05 inches 
at 100 yards, and 10J inches at 1,000 yards. 

Now, the owner of a rifle will seek, by experience, to find 
the number of marks on the back sight that will correspond 
with the elevations required to hit the mark aimed at, for 
various distances. For, although he will find a table given 
by the manufacturer or (more correctly still by the Metford 
tables), for a given weight and quality of powder, and a given 



OF RIFLE PRACTICE. V 

weight of bullet, which tables will correspond, with con- 
siderable accuracy, to the performance of different rifles of 
the same calibre, owing to the uniformity of trajectories of 
different riflesj with like weights and quality of powder, like 
weights of bullets, and like calibres/ each rifle will have its 
own reading, which will vary considerably from other rifles 
similarly conditioned, as to these weights and calibres, for 
the following reasons : 

First. The sights, though made as nearty alike as is 
possible to construct them, may be placed at varying eleva- 
tions on the stock, which, of course, would vary the elevation 
of the zero point, or starting point, of the marks upon the 
sight; because, usually these zero points are marked on the 
sight before it has been placed upon the barrel. 

Moreover, as this zero point will be found to be constantly 
changing, from different charges of powder and different 
weights of bullet, the only inducement to leave it unmarked 
upon the sight, until found by firing the piece, would be the 
desire to use the piece with a fixed charge, and for a fixed 
purpose. 

Secondly. Supposing two rifles to be made exactly alike in 
their proportions and sights, and alike in the trajectory of 
their bullets, it will be found that, owing to the different 
spring of their barrels under the concussion of fire, their 
sights will read differently in actual practice. We are now 
engaged with our explanation of the fact of this spring, and, 
therefore, have run into a little obscurity by begging this 
question, which will be dissipated as we proceed. 

We now assume that the owner of a rifle is acquainted, 
from experience, with the number of marks upon the back 
sight, which will give him the necessary elevation at varying 
distances. 

If now he will fix a long-range match rifle in a vise, aimed, 
we will say, at a mark 100 yards distant, and then open the 
breech and look through the barrel, he will find that aimed 
at a much higher elevation. Indeed, it should be aimed 
higher (we will assume it to be ten inches) to allow for the fall 
of the bullet by gravity ; but he will find it to be aimed very 
much higher than that. Whatever he may find the height 
to be, in so far as it exceeds ten inches, it will be owing to a 
spring downwards of the barrel in the concussion of firing. 



10 THIRTY-FIVE YEARS 

This spring would not always be downwards for different 
lengths of barrel and quality of charge, but for all long 
range match rifles, under the rules of the range, it will be 
found to be uniformly downwards, though varying somewhat 
for different rifles. 

For instance, the writer is the owner of a match rifle, that, 
with a charge of 60 grains of powder and 325 grains of bullet, 
will hit the mark at 100 yards with 13 minutes of elevation at 
the tang. The same rifle, with the same bullet and same 
quality of powder, will, with 115 grains of the latter, require 
25 minutes of elevation to reach the same mark at the dis- 
tance of 100 yards ; the extra quantity of powder having 
caused the barrel to spring, apparently, 12.60 inches down- 
ward in the distance marked upon the target, but really 
about 17 inches, owing to the greater velocity and flatter 
trajectory of the larger charge. 

Now, at 200 yards distance, the first charge will require 
25 minutes of elevation, and the latter 34 minutes. At 400 
yards, the bullets will meet upon the target from the same 
reading of the back sight. Therefore, an increase of the 
charge from 60 to 115 grains, with a bullet of 325 grains, will 
make no difference on the target at 400 yards, although, at 
100 yards, they gave a difference of 12.60 inches. 

Again, the same rifle, with 105 grains F. G., Hazard pow- 
der, and 550 grains of lead will require a reading of 35 
minutes of tang elevation, and of 45 minutes at the butt, to 
reach the mark at 100 yards of distance. With the same 
bullet and the same quality of powder, but with 115 grains 
instead of 105, it will require 49h minutes of elevation at the 
butt to reach the mark at the same distance — 100 yards. At 
500 yards, the smaller charge will require 102 minutes, and 
the larger charge 104 minutes ; but at 800 yards, both 
charges require an elevation of 157 minutes. At that dis- 
tance, 105 grains and 115 grains of powder, with 550 of lead, 
require the same elevation exactly; so that any variation of 
powder, by inexact measurement, or any other cause that will 
give an increased or diminished velocity to the bullet, will 
cause no appreciable variation between these extremes ; but 
a variation in the charge, below 105 grains of powder and 
550 grains of lead, will show an appreciable variation at the 
target, so that a variation of 25 grains, below the quantity 



OF EIFLE PKACTICE. 11 

which has been mentioned, will give a variation at the target,. 
by the inexact measurement of a single grain of powder, 
of many inches. 

With another match rifle of the writer, the extremes of 110 
grains and 120 grains of powder, with 550 grains of lead, will 
meettTie target at 1,000 yards. 

Thus the elegant match rifles which, at 800, 900 and 1,000 
yards, have obtained such fame at Creedmoor, are really bet- 
ter weapons at those distances than those made with heavier 
or lighter barrels. And the reason of the advice given by 
experts — "Find, by experiment, the quantity of powder that 
your rifle will bear, by increasing the quantity used, so long 
as it will give increased elevation ; then add a few grains,, 
and you have found the charge for that rifle " — is made 
apparent. 

The second point of difference between the match rifle 
and the military rifle has reference to different methods of 
shooting. 

In the first place, the shots from a match rifle are delivered 
from an absolutely clean barrel, and for that purpose clean- 
ing the barrel must be resorted to after every shot. It is 
true that the Fisher wiper has very much curtailed the time 
necessary for this performance, so that a large number of 
shots could be probably delivered as effectively from the match 
as from the military rifle, because the time taken for the 
cleaning of the piece would be compensated for by the 
reduction of heat in the barrel ; yet the use of a ramrod and 
water, for this purpose, is incompatible with military- 
exigencies. The military rifle must be fired rapidly, without 
the encumbrance of loose ramrods or other adjuncts. A 
rapid fire, for a few minutes of time, is all that is generally 
required for a military rifle ; but that rapidity is an essential 
qualification. It cannot, therefore, be cleaned between shots. 

2d. The cartridges of match rifles do not generally con- 
tain the bullets ; or, if they do, the bullets are very lightly 
inserted, and the cartridges will not endure, without injury, 
the rough transportation of military service. 

The difference in accuracy between these two classes of 
weapons, previously to the international contests of military 
rifles, was about twenty -five per cent., in favor of the match 
rifle, at long range. At the close of these contests, it had 



12 THIRTY-FIVE YEARS 

narrowed down to fifteen per cent. At the present time, it 
is certainly less than ten per cent. 

Previous to the international contests, the bullets and 
charges of powder used in military were less than those used 
in the match rifles. The Government cartridges of the 
Springfield rifle contained 70 grains of powder and 405 
grains of lead. The Remington and Sharp military rifles, 
used on the ranges, were bored to take the same cartridges. 
The bullets were unpatched and cannulared, and the grooves 
filled with grease, to diminish the friction, soften the residuum 
and prevent the barrel from leading during continued fire. 
The bullets also were larger than the bore of the piec. The 
military range, for accurate fire, was not over 600 yards with 
these cartridges. 

England, however, for fifteen years, had been using in her 
army rifle a cartridge with 85 grains of powder and 480 
grains of lead, with a smooth and patched, instead of a naked 
cannulared bullet. The bullet was not dissimilar to that 
used in the match rifle, and the practice with it had been at 
1,000 yards. This bullet, like the unpatched one, was re- 
duced in size at least y^f-Q of an inch in passing through the 
barrel. The lubrication was effected by greased wads. 

In the progress of improvement, it was found that this 
swaging was wholly unnecessary, and was detrimental, from 
its friction, causing increased recoil, and diminished range and 
accuracy. The deep grooves of the rifle, which had rendered 
this swaging policy necessary, were found to be much inferior 
in performance to a shallow groove, with a harder bullet ; 
and these shallow grooves and hardened bullets, with a 
barrel approximating to that used in the match rifle, were the 
main features of the special military rifles which made such 
splendid performances in England, as long ago as the year 
1878. In them was also used a heavier bullet (in fact, the 
same as was used in the match rifle), and, in many instances, 
a larger charge of powder. 

Such were the rifles with which we were confronted at the 
first national military contest with England. We hastily 
improvised some military specials, by using the match rifle 
barrel, and attempted to adapt to them military cartridges. 
The rifle was all that was required, but the cartridges were 
failures, and we were badly beaten, because unprepared. 



OF KIFLE PRACTICE. 13 

The next year found us better prepared ; in fact, to an extent 
which promised, to public anticipation on this side of the 
water, a victory. But we were again beaten, simply by 
failure at the extreme ranges. 

It is profitable now to follow the improvements that were 
introduced. In the first contest, the rifles used had been 
prepared by the Remingtons, with a large shell, which, in the 
second contest, was, as we shall attempt to show, unwisely 
exchanged for a smaller one, the reasons for which opinion 
will shoitly appear. 

In the first contest we depended upon greased wads for 
lubrication ; these, as we now know, were inadequate. In 
the second contest we depended mainly upon the breathing- 
tube, for moistening the residuum of powder in the barrel, 
thus removing hardened obstructions and lubricating the 
barrel. 

The rifles supplied for this contest were from two sources — 
four from Remington, and eight from Brown. Both were 
bored for shells with the capacity of 106 grains — straight 
shells, 2 t 6 q- inches in length. 

The former used 76 grains of ducking powder, retaining 
the wads, which filled the rest of the case. The latter used 
105 grains of Hazard, F. G., with an apology for a wad — i. e.,. 
a paper wad soaked in some preparation. Both depended 
mainly upon breathing tubes. 

The men and rifles were all that could be desired. Indeed, 
the contest gave some evidence of their superiority. But 
they were found defective at long range, as it was alleged, 
from want of sufficient practice. This may have been the 
reason at that time ; but the writer will attempt to show that, 
had those men been supplied with proper cartridges, they 
would have exhibited unquestionable superiority to their 
opponents. 

The difficulties with the Remington cartridges were in 
carrying too small a quantity of powder, and powder not of 
the right kind. 

In support of the first allegation, we refer to what has 
been already stated, as to the necessity of loading the rifle 
with a charge sufficiently heavy, so that the addition of five 
or more grains will show no appreciable effect upon the 
target. Thus, variation from inexact measurement of powder,. 



14 THIRTY-FIVE YEARS 

from want of uniformity in its packing in the shell, or from 
crushed powder, or any other cause which would increase or 
diminish velocity and recoil, would have been in a great 
measure removed. The objection to the quality is the quick- 
ness of its explosion — a minor fault, which will not be dis- 
cussed at present. 

The difficulty with the Brown cartridge was the want of a 
sufficient wad, to prevent the collection of quantities of 
residuum which w T ould escape the compensating action of the 
breathing tube. 105 grains of Hazard's F. G. powder may 
be sufficient for the shell ; but to carry a wad of sufficient 
size, to have been effective, would have required a larger 
shell. 

But experiments, followed up since the contest, have 
demonstrated the possibility of using a smaller quantity of 
powder to gain the same propulsive force, and at the same 
time secure cleanliness to the barrel, and a sufficient, and, 
indeed, superior, lubtication to that afforded by grease. The 
use of three grains, by weight, of wood powder, at the 
bottom of the shell, and 100 grains of black rifle powder 
overlaying it (which requires the same room in the shell as 
110 grains of black powder), will give a propulsive force of 
120 grains of black powder. This quantity is all that is re- 
quired for the nicest performance of the rifle at 1,000 yards. 

The 2 t 6 q- shell, however, will not contain this quantity of 
powder, and insert the bullet two-thirds of its diameter, 
without packing the powder to a deleterious extent. More- 
over, the wad, which is an essential part of the cartridge, and 
which should also provide a proper solvent, must be left out. 

Here we will leave this discussion, again to be taken up at 
a more advanced portion of this work, and consider in order 
the improvements of rifle practice for the last thirty-five 
years. 

For assistance in this work, and for greater accuracy, a 
long list of treatises has been consulted, prominent among 
which are the books of Chapman, Cleveland, Wilcox, Norton, 
Jervis, Wingate, Perry, Laidley, Weston, Greener, and Re- 
ports of Army and Navy Bureaus of Ordnance, of the Patent 
Office, and of the New York Spirit of the Times ; from all of 
which quotations have been made. 



OF RIFLE PRACTICE. 15 

CHAPTER I. 

RIFLES ANTERIOR TO OUR CIVIL WAR. 

It is now nearly thirty -five } T ears since the writer came into 
possession of a rifle constructed b} 7 Edwin Wesson, of North- 
boro, Mass. There are yet man} 7 living who remember the 
wonderful advance in range and accuracy secured by these 
Wesson rifles, and those manufactured b} T James,, of Utica ; 
Xewis, of Troy ; Fish, of New York ; Billinghurst, of Roches- 
ter, and others whose names are too numerous to mention 
here. All of these rifles, however, were indebted, for their 
efficacy, to their use of the flat-ended picket, or elongated 
bullet, and loading muzzle, patented by Alvan Clarke, of 
Cambridge, Mass., on the 21th of April, 1840. 

Before Delvigne had patented or Minie applied the 
elongated bullet, Clarke had preceded them, as it was more 
than a year afterwards, viz., in June, 1811, that Delvigne 
obtained a patent for his elongated bullet in France. More- 
over, it was found impracticable to use this bullet in the 
Delvigne model rifle of 1842, for which it was designed, and 
the spherical bullet, which was then in universal use, and 
which had been previously used in the Delvigne rifle, so long 
ago as the year 1830, in its first issue to the Guard Royal in 
the Algerian campaign, continued to be used until the pillar 
or tige of Thouvinen was applied in the model of 1846, under 
the name of the tige rifle, when the elongated bullet finally 
became successful in France. In June, 1849, at a competi- 
tive trial at Ymcennes, the tige rifle and bullet were beaten 
by a rifle without the tige, and by a bullet of M. Minie. 

The winter previous to the writer's possession of a Wesson 
rifle had been passed in the city of Montreal, where he fre- 
quently accompanied the proprietor of the hotel in which he 
boarded, on his daily visit to the building erected on the ice 
of the St. Lawrence River, where the Rifle Club of Montreal 
were practicing for their annual competition. The proprietor 
was an American gentleman, and also a member of the Rifle 
Club of Montreal — of which he was the only one that was in 
possession of an American rifle. The other members used 
English rifles, with a spherical ball, surrounded with an 
annular projection. They were practicing at twenty rods, 
while the American was practicing at sixty rods, and the 



16 THIRTY-FIVE YEARS 

latter informed the writer that it had been proposed in the 
club — against which he was strenuously protesting — to shoot 
at these odds, at the annual contest, on the ground that they 
represented the actual difference between the rifles. 

The rifle used by the American had been manufactured 
for him by James, of Utica, after he had tried and failed to 
get one of Wesson's rifles, who, as he informed the writer, 
made the best rifle that could be procured. 

The writer then remembered that he had been offered a 
Wesson rifle, at Portland, Me., during the previous summer, 
for which he went at once, on his return, to Portland. The 
owner, however, had died, and his widow lived at Bangor, 
and so it was the next summer before the rifle was finally 
procured. The writer well recollects his astonishment when 
it was tried on the farm of a friend, at Gorham ; and it is 
well to remark here, that the performance of the Wesson 
rifle thirty-five years ago has never been surpassed, as to 
accuracy, in any distance, up to forty rods, although a 
greater range was obtained by heavier barrels and bullets, 
constructed on the same principle, before the war of the 
rebellion. 

It was in 1841 that Wesson began the manufacture of his 
rifles at Northboro, Mass. At that time, the shortest string 
of the old rifles, at 40 rods, was 50 inches. After the intro- 
duction of his rifles, a 20-inch string, at that distance, was 
common shooting. With a rifle made by James, Mr. J. T. 
Chapman, author of a work on the improved American rifle, 
made a string of 13| inches at 40 rods. At a sporting match 
in Sherburne, N. Y., in January, 1845, the prize was won by a 
three-shot string of 3§ inches at 40 rods. The best strings 
which have been made by Chapman, at 40 rods, were 12 
inches with a James rifle, and 11 inches, at the same distance, 
with a Wesson rifle. With a James rifle, at 40 rods, using a 
telescopic sight, he has made a string of 9§ inches, averaging 
less than an inch of variation to each shot. 

The Wesson rifle owned by the writer weighed 13 J Ihs. ; 
the weight of its barrel was 10 lbs. ; it had open, globe and 
telescopic sights, loading muzzle, chamber bushed with 
platinum, movable wind-gauge on forward sight also graudu- 
ated on platinum and cut with an index of -fa of an inch ; the 
bead stood about T 3 ¥ of an inch from the barrel, and was 



OF RIFLE PRACTICE. 17 

shaded by a hood of § of an inch in diameter and one inch 
long ; the barrel was of cast-steel, annealed, and 32 inches 
long, about 33 in its calibre, and cut with a g lining twist, 
commencing with one turn in 6 feet, and ending with one in 
3J feet, with 6 grooves, and the sides of the lands cut square 
to their face, and the grooves not quite so wide as the lands. 
The ball was conical, of 240 grains in weight, and used with 
a charge of 75 grains of Hazard's sea-shooting powder. The 
globe sight was turned with a screw of 64 threads to an inch, 
which marked the declination of the ball as 1 foot in 20 rods, 
4 feet in 40 rods, 13 feet in 60 rods, and 24 feet in 80 rods. 
There was no spriug in the barrel under the concussion of 
firing, as may be observed in the Creed moor rifles of the 
present day, and a touch to its hair trigger would send a 
bullet, wind and weather permitting, into a previous hole at 100 
yards. The writer has actually fired, from a rest, seven suc- 
cessive shots in the same bullet hole (making a slightly 
curved line of 1J inches in length), from a distance of 173 
yards. 

There were faults, however, in the performance of the rifle, 
in occasionally overturning the bullet. The general idea 
seemed to be that this happened from a fracture of the hold 
of the bullet in the grooves of the rifle.. The recovery of 
some bullets which had been fired, however, taught the writer 
that the ribs of the bullet had been melted, as he found a 
drop of lead, thus melted, on the forward part of the bullet, 
which had been one of its ribs This discovery, exonerating 
the twist from the blame of deforming the ball, was the basis 
of subsequent experiments to increase its velocity, which, at 
that time, however, were only successful at the expense of its 
accuracy. The fear of a rapid twist was then, and even now 
is, a bugbear in developing the performance of a rifle. 

The patchin of the ball was a circular piece of linen, 
about twice its diameter, wet with spittle when designed 
for immediate firing, and grease when used for hunting, 
which was laid flat on the loading muzzle, the flat end of the 
picket standing on its centre, when the guide starter would 
be put on, embracing the false muzzle. The bullet would 
then be driven into the grooves of the rifle, surrounded by 
its fold of linen, passing through the false muzzle into the 
rifle a distance of several inches, according to the length of 
2 



18 THIRTY-FIVE YEAES 

the starter, whose flat top would be driven by a blow of the 
hand. In the false muzzle the bullet would take the grooves, 
and pass below the grip of the true muzzle, which extended 
only an inch and a half from the entrance, from which point 
the bore was freed or enlarged to the chamber of the rifle, so 
that the bullet glided easily down to the powder. The re- 
moval of the false muzzle left the grooves in the true muzzle 
sharp and clear to the exit of the bullet. To this fact the 
superiority in accuracy of the rifle loaded with a false muzzle 
is attributable. 

A more efficient covering of the bullet completely pro- 
tected it from the heat of the gas, and by enabling it to 
retain its hold upon the grooves, permitted the use of larger 
charges of powder, and more effectually blocked the escape 
of gas through the grooves of the rifle, which were much 
deeper than those used at the present day. The writer was 
engaged in these experiments at the outbreak of the rebellion, 
and before their completion was called upon for active service 
in the field. 

But, postponing at present a detail of the improvements 
which had been made, at the commencement of the war, in 
rifles and their projectiles, the writer returns to historical 
narrative of little incidents which, though unimportant in 
themselves, will serve better to elucidate rifle practice than 
more scientific discussions bristling with trajectories and 
algebraic formula. 

The writer was in possession of his long-sought rifle, and 
had returned to his temporary residence at Guildhall, Ver- 
mont. On the next morning, after breakfast, looking over 
the wide square which fronted the hotel, to the hill beyond, 
some fowls were seen at a convenient distance, the ownership 
of which was assumed by the fat landlord, who was sitting 
in an easy chair, smoking his pipe. In answer to a request 
for a shot at a straggler, the writer was given permission to 
shoot all day at that distance. Balancing the rifle on a 
chair, the shot was made, when immediately the usual gyra- 
tions of an animal from a mortal wound were visible, and the 
result of the shot as quickly announced by a spring of the fat 
landlord from his chair, with the exclamation, " You have 
shot her !" A measurement was shortly made, from which 
the distance was found to be 123 J yards. The shot gathered 



OF RIFLE PRACTICE. 19 

-some of the leading men of the village, who pronounced it a 
chance shot. The village merchant proposed to put up 
chickens, at 100 yards, for sixpence a shot, while the village 
doctor would put up, at 40 rods, the largest turkey in the 
county, at ninepence a shot. These propositions were all 
accepted, and in due course of time, the parties appeared 
with their birds. The first chicken, at 100 yards, was missed, 
which miss was followed by a peal of laughter from the 
•crowd, and a bystander offered to bet a box of cigars that 
the next shot, also, would be a failure ; which proposition 
also was accepted by the writer. The second shot secured 
the chicken, as did also the succeeding ones, consecutively, 
until six chickens had been scored. The merchant then 
pleaded that he had lost enough. Upon a call for the tur- 
key, the doctor made his appearance with a thirty-two- 
pounder, with which he proceeded to the requisite distance, 
and, with true Yankee ingenuity, tied him with his body be- 
hind a fence post, ou the top of which his fan-like tail was 
spread. No fence post of timber, however, grown in that 
country, was proof against the bullet of a Wesson rifle, nor 
was any large enough to hide the body of that turkey. The 
doctor brought him back, after the first shot, a corpus delicti, 
upon which the whole party subsequently dined. 

A few days afterwards, a flock of ducks made their appear- 
ance in the Connecticut River, near the New Hampshire 
shore. The writer fired a shot at them, from a distance of 
about 100 yards, selecting a group of three who were in line. 
Two of the ducks remained dead in the water, while the 
third was observed to fall from the flock at a considerable 
■distance. This shot, which was observed by others, and 
talked over, induced an old gentleman, who had been a 
notable shot in his da}^, to propose to the writer that he 
should shoot at a dollar, put up at 100 } T ards, at ten cents a 
shot. Accepting the challenge, without any doubt as to the 
result, the writer was victimized by a target fastened to the 
edge of a lath, laid horizontally, with a back-ground of snow, 
which rendered it invisible. Subsequently, however, the old 
gentleman was equally victimized, by putting up a dollar bill, 
to be shot at on the same terms, at 60 rods, pasted on the 
middle of a nine-inch bull's eye. As the target w r as on the 
ice of the Connecticut River, and a gale of wind was blowing 



20 THIRTY-FIVE YEARS 

at the time, he supposed his venture was reasonably safe. 
Two shots, however, out of five, would win the prize, until 
the old gentleman was satisfied. 

In the course of time, the scene of the writer's employment, 
and amusement* with his rifle, shifted to the west, in the State 
of Wisconsin. Shortly after his arrival, thirty or forty wild 
ducks were killed by his rifle, on the suburbs of a village, 
with many spectators. At another time and place, a par- 
tridge was killed, from a tree, more than 100 yards distant, 
in the presence of several spectators. In answer to the sug- 
gestion that it was a chance shot, a mark was put up at 200 
yards distant, at which off-hand shots were fired with a hair 
trigger, which averaged about three or four inches from the 
centre. A match was then spoken of, with a tige rifle, which 
had recently been brought from Europe. The match did not 
come off; but the same tige rifle was subsequently used by 
the writer, for shooting in the woods, for which purpose,, 
from its light weight and easy loading, it was handier than 
his Wesson rifle. Its accuracy, moreover, was sufficient to 
bring a squirrel from the loftiest trees, a fact which rather 
surprised the writer when he heard, about the same time, of 
the Minie rifle, that was superseding it, with a range of 1,100 
yards, and when the published trajectories of both bullets 
came under his observation, at a later date, and failed to 
confirm his expectations of their efficiency. It is well, how- 
ever, to mention that the tige rifle, in Wisconsin, was suc- 
cessful for squirrel shooting by the use of a light bullet, and 
was of smaller calibre than those used in the French service. 

The weight of the Wesson rifle, together with its append- 
ages and care required for its loading, made it an awkward 
weapon for field use. The rifles and rifle barrels made by 
the elder Eemington (the latter of which were furnished to 
rifle manufacturers at various localities), supplied the mar- 
kets, until the breech-loaders of Colt, Sharpe and Maynard 
came into general use as sporting and military weapons. In re- 
gard to breech-loaders, it may be said that " Hall had patented 
them in 1811, and afterwards furnished 10,000 of them to the 
Government, which were used with success in the Black 
Hawk and Seminole wars, some of which remained on hand 
until the war of the Eebellion ; that Ferguson had supplied 
breech-loaders to the enemy, under his command, which 



OF RIFLE PRACTICE. 21 

were used against us at the battle of King's Mountain, in the 
Revolutionary war ; and that, at a later date, Burnside, Jen- 
nings and others, had furnished breech-loaders to the Gov- 
ernment for trial ;" which, though not successful at the time, 
served as the basis upon which other companies were organ- 
ized, and successful weapons were manufactured at a later 
date, subsequent to the war of the Rebellion, of which due 
notice will be taken at the proper time. From 1850 to 1860, 
however, Colt, Sharpe and Maynard furnished the only 
weapons that gained public attention, beside the European 
weapons which had acquired reputation during the wars of 
England and France with Russia (1854), and the war between 
France and Austria (1859). 

In the year 1854, these European rifles were tried at 
Harper's Ferry, under orders from the war department, and 
experiments instituted by which the Government arms were 
determined upon, that were afterwards used to a limited 
extent in the war of the Rebellion. r J he 120th Regiment, 
N. Y. S. V. (from the County of Ulster, which the author had 
the honor of commanding in several engagements), were fur- 
nished with these weapons. The 20th Regiment (from the same 
county, in which the writer had previously served), were 
armed with the Enfield rifles. In the three months' service 
they had been armed with the smooth-bore musket. 

As these trials embraced the smooth-bore musket, which, 
up to that time, had bemi the general arm, together with 
rifles which had been manufactured by the elder Remington 
for the United States Government, and breech-loaders fur- 
nished by Sharps it will be of interest, at this late date, to 
insert some of these tables, to ascertain what was the status 
in the knowledge of military projectiles anterior to the war 
of the Rebellion. 

The rifles and revolvers of Col. Colt were the first suc- 
cessful breech-loaders and repeaters that have been made, 
although numerous inventions for such fire-arms are upon 
record for the last three hundred years. His rifles, one of 
which first came under the author's notice in 1843, were not 
at first successful ; but his revolvers used in the Mexican 
war, gained a world-wide reputation and sale. The rifle was 
used by Marcy, in his overland expedition to the Red River, 
in 1852, and received his commendation. It was afterwards 



22 THIRTY-FIVE YEARS 

adopted by an army board, in 1858. His patent had been? 
obtained abroad, in England, in 1835, and at home in 1836.. 
His first patent for revolving barrels dated back to 1830. 

The Colt rifle was constructed on the same general prin- 
ciple as his pistols. A revolving chamber received the- 
charges, which were either loose powder or cartridges. The 
charge was fired by a cap. At the outbreak of the war, it was 
regarded, by high authority, as " unsurpassed as a sporting 
weapon, and unequaled for accuracy by any military re- 
peater. With open sights, it has placed ten consecutive 
shots in a nine-inch ring, at 200 yards. At 400 yards, 48 
shots were successively placed in a target space four feet 
square ; ten successive shots in a space 8x6 inches, at 200 
yards, and six successive shots in a space 12x5 inches, at 400 
yards. The rifle was .44 calibre, the weight of bullet was 
256 grains, and of powder 36 grains." 

" The Maynard rifle was first patented May 27th, 1851. A 
patent was obtained for a metallic cartridge in 1856, through 
which the fire was communicated from a cap. The Maynard 
cap, or primer, consisted of a narrow strip of varnished 
paper, of double thickness, having deposits of fulminating 
powder between the two, at equal distances apart. The strip 
containing three or four dozen of these cells was coiled in a 
magazine beneath the lock-plate, and brought up by the- 
motion of a wheel in the act of cocking, so as to bring a cell 
directly upon the top of the nipple. The fall of the hammer 
exploded it, and at the same time cut off the paper behind, 
so that it was not seen again until the gun was cocked. The 
barrels were of different sizes, easily attached to and removed 
from the stock, one of which usually was of .50 calibre, load- 
ing 48 grains of powder and 350 grains of lead, and the other 
of .35 calibre, loading 36 grains of powder and 140 of bullet. 
In 1857 and 1858, Edward Stabler, a noted hunter of Mary- 
land, was performing feats with this rifle, which have never 
been excelled for precision and celerity of fire at game. He- 
says : ' As good, if not the best, shooting I have ever wit- 
nessed, has been done by my thirty-two-inch, small calibre 
Maynard. After properly arranging and adjusting the 
sights, and attaching a hair trigger, I have fired, with a rest,. 
four successive balls, at 66 yards, all breaking into the first 
hole, and all covered by a York shilling. At 300 yards, also,. 



OF RIFLE PRACTICE. 23 

with a rest, three successive shots were all within the com- 
pass of a visiting card, or less than a two-inch ring. A year 
or two later (1861), a hunting companion, with me, fired at a 
deer swimming, at over 100 yards, and missed ; before he was 
much, if any, over half re-loaded, I fired three balls into the 
same deer, killing him before he could escape.' At another 
time, ' coming upon two deer, within 50 or 60 yards, they 
standing within three or four feet of each other, I dropped 
the first in his tracks, and before the second had moved 
twenty-five yards, I had re-loaded and knocked him down 
also.' " 

At a later date in the war, the Confederates, at Ball's 
Bluff, used these rifles with deadly effect. 

The Sharpe breech-loader was first patented in 1848, by 
Christian Sharpe. A company was organized for its manu- 
facture in Hartford, in 1851, which carried on the business 
there with great success. They obtained reputation during 
the anti-slaver}^ struggle in Kansas. Carrying a heavier 
charge of powder (which was 60 grains) and heavier bullet 
(450 grains) than other breech-loaders of the time, it rose in 
favor, though its growth was a long time retarded by its im- 
perfect cartridges and unpleasant escape of gas at the breech. 
The cartridges prepared for these rifles, during the war, were 
of stout linen, strong enough to bear rough handling ; the base 
was of paper, through which the powder was ignited by the 
explosion of the cap. 

In January, 1875, a new company was organized, under a 
special charter from the State of Connecticut. Early in 1876 
the new organization erected an armory at Bridgeport, Conn., 
whose weapons were conspicuous in the international con- 
tests at Creedmoor and Dollymount, and whose military 
rifles were considered unequaled, for a time, at Creedmoor. 

There were also two magazine rifles used during the war, 
which it is necessary to mention in this connection. The 
first was the Heniw, with a magazine under the barrel, con- 
taining fifteen metallic cartridges. The calibre was .42 ; 
weight of ball, 216 grains, and weight of powder, 28 grains. 
It was afterwards merged into the Winchester rifle, whose 
popularity at a later date will receive subsequent mention. 

The second was the Spencer repeating rifle, which was 
patented in the United States in 1860, and in the principal 



24 THIRTY-FIVE YEARS 

kingdoms of Europe at subsequent dates during the same 
year. It was ordered in large quantities during the war, and 
used, among the first, the rim-fire copper cartridge. The 
magazine was in the butt, and contained seven charges. 
The calibre was .50 ; the charge of powder was 38 grains, 
and weight of bullet 450 grains. It had, also, a sporting 
bullet of 236 grains in weight. 

The Wesson and Ballard rifles were also used during the 
war, both taking the copper cartridge. The latter came into 
more general notice at a period subsequent to the war. The 
other was manufactured by F. Wesson, who was formerly 
associated with his brother, the late Edwin Wesson, of 
Northboro, Mass., who is so well known in connection with 
the best of work in the manufacture of target rifles. The 
calibres of both weapons were .44, and the cartridges of each 
contained 26 grains of powder and a bullet of 216 grains. 

General Norton, in his elaborate work on " American 
Inventions in Small Arms and Heavy Ordnance," gives the 
following list of American systems of breech-loaders, manu- 
factured and purchased from January 1st, 1861, to June 
30th, 1866, which were issued almost entirely to mounted 
troops : 

1,509 Ballard. 20,002 Maynard. 

1,002 Ball. 1,001 Palmer. 

55,567 Burnside. 20,000 Remington. 

9,342 Cosmopolitan. 80,512 Sharpe. 

22,728 Gallagher.. 30,062 Smith. 

1,052 Gibbs. 94,156 Spencer. 

3,520 Halls. 25,603 Starr. 

11,261 Joslyn. 4,001 Warner. 

892 Lindner. 151 Wesson. 

14,495 Menill. 
" The conditions, wdiose observance is essential to the 
utmost perfection of accuracy and power, were more rigidly 
adhered to in the American target rifle than in any one 
which had yet been produced antecedent to the war of the 
Rebellion, and their fulfillment has resulted in the produc- 
tion of a weapon whose accuracy, probably, never can be 
surpassed. This weapon, weighing from twenty-five to fifty 
pounds with loading muzzle an i telescopic sights, proved its 
value, under certain circumstances, during the war, having 



OF RIFLE PEACTICE. 25 

been used by the Confederates as well as ourselves." The 
writer saw, at Lancaster, New Hampshire, in 1880, a couple 
of these weapons, with forty-pound barrels, in the shop of a 
gunsmith, who had been in the Confederate service during 
the war, and who had used them in the forts about Richmond 
with deadly effect. 

" General Jacobs mentions, as a proof of the remarkable 
power of one of his rifles, that a good shot could put nearly 
every ball into a circle of eight feet diameter, at 1,000 yards. 
With the target rifle and telescopic sights, the feat has 
repeatedly been performed of firing a series of shots, without 
.a single miss, into a flour barrel, at three-quarters of a mile. 
At Yorktown, the Andrews sharpshooters, armed with these 
rifles, in repeated iustances held the enemy's batteries silent 
until counter-works were established, which could not have 
been erected but for their aid. On one occasion, a party of 
our men, working in the trenches, were annoyed by a sharp- 
shooter, who had posted himself in a tree 800 yards distant, 
from which he could make their position an uncomfortable one, 
while it was impossible, at that distance, even to distinguish 
him, with the naked eye, among the branches of the tree. 
Two of the Andrews sharpshooters were placed in the 
trench, a telescopic sight was placed upon him, and the first 
shot brought him down." 

On the 30th of June, 1863, a match, of fifty shots each, at 
40 rods, was shot between a target rifle, weighing forty-two 
pounds, of .51 calibre, with a bullet weighing 577 grains and 
a charge of powder weighing 134 grains, and another gun of 
the same kind, with a slightly larger calibre, and with a 
bullet shorter than the first, but one and a half grains 
lieavier. The fifty shots of the former measured 77-^f inches, 
and the fifty shots of the latter, 73j-f inches, the average, in 
each case, being one and a half inches from the centre. It 
was a very bad day for shooting, the wind blowing in violent 
gusts, and shifting its course continually. 

" The guns were laid upon a solid frame of timber, and 
elevated and depressed with a screw, like artillery. Stream- 
ers of light cotton cloth, attached to poles, were fixed at 
intervals along the line of fire, to indicate the direction and 
force of the wind. The aim being adjusted, the shooter had 
nothing to do but watch the flags and decide upon the right 



26 THIRTY-FIVE YEARS 

moment to pull the trigger, which he might do for himself, or 
direct another to do for him with equal certainty of success.'* 

The rifles which had accomplished the victory at New 
Orleans, in 1816 (to which further reference will shortly be 
made), were generally of the type which Cooper afterwards 
immortalized through a succession of his novels. With 
barrels of 3J feet to 4 feet in length, weighing from nine to 
twelve pounds, and with round bullets weighing from 60 to 
300 to the pound, the exploits of Leather Stocking, and of 
another hero equally familiar to the public ear as David 
Crockett, were performed. 

In foreign countries a larger bore had been used. The 
general characteristics of European rifles appear to have 
been very large calibres, light and short barrels, and a twist 
of one turn in three feet, sometimes using a patch and some- 
times not. In England, the barrels were 2J feet long, and 
bullets of 20 to the pound, without a patch. In 1846 the 
zone, or belted, rifle was introduced by Moore, a noted 
London manufacturer. 

Grooves were first used in Vienna, in 1498, to facilitate 
the loading of bullets. In 1522 it had been found that 
giving the groove a spiral turn, relative to the axis of the 
bore, that greater accuracy could be obtained. 



CHAPTEK II. 

METALLIC CARTRIDGES. 

Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson obtained a patent in 
August, 1854, for the employment in a cartridge of the 
metallic or indurated seat, so that it shall rest directly on 
the powder, in combination with arranging the priming or 
percussion powder in rear of said disc, or on the side of it 
opposite to that which rests against the powder, thereby 
affording the .opportunity for applying the force of the blow 
by which the priming is inflamed, such force being applied 
in the line of the axis of the cartridge. Under this patent 
they constructed, in 1859, a revolver using a central-fire 
metallic cartridge. In April, 1860, they also obtained a 
patent for a rim-fire metallic cartridge. 



OF EIFLE PRACTICE. 27 

" Thus to the Americans is due the honor of bringing the 
metal cartridge to its present state of perfection, and Messrs. 
Smith & Wesson were the first Americans to use the copper 
cartridges for their pistols. The copper cartridge, for 
weapons of war, was first largely adopted in our own armies 
during the Rebellion, and was the parent of many beautiful 
inventions in breech-loading small arms, both in our own 
and other countries." In England, the first metallic car- 
tridge cases were made from coiled metal foil, and covered 
with paper. They were invented in 1866, and known as the 
Boxer cartridge. The paper, however, rucked up when in- 
serting the cartridge in the chamber of the gun, and has 
been superseded by coil brass. 

For sporting guns or fowling pieces, however, non-con- 
suming cartridges, in breech loaders, had long been used. 
They were invented almost simultaneously by two French- 
men, whose inventions deserve special notice in this con- 
nection. 

The first invention, though of slower growth, was eventually 
of the greatest importance. A. M. Pottet, in France, in 1835,. 
invented the central-fire, non-consuming cartridge case, and 
his system is still the one in general use. In this cartridge 
the base was of metal and the cylinder of coiled paper. The 
base of the cartridge was filled with hard card-board, pressed 
into the case when it is a pulp} T state. These cartridges 
were introduced in England in 1862. 

The first gun on the central- fire principle appears to have 
been the Prussian needle-gun, which gun had the detonating 
mixture distributed over a paper wad, at the base of the 
bullet, the needle having to pass through the powder before 
it reached the detonator. It was invented by Herr Dreyse, 
in 1838, and adopted by the Prussian army in 1842. 

To M. Lefaucheux is due the honor of inventing the 
modern breech-loading sporting gun ; but, although, so to 
speak, a practically useful weapon when first introduced by 
him, the action was weak and imperfectly developed. But 
his great achievement was the introduction of a shell, or car- 
tridge case, which should fit the breech of the gun. The 
shell, or case, by expanding at the moment of discharge, 
effectually closes the breech-joint and prevents the escape of 
gas. Conditions such as these had not been brought about 



'28 THIRTY-FIVE YEARS 

before M. Lafaucheux's discovery, bv the combined ingenuity 
of bis predecessors. The escape of gas was the first difficulty 
to be overcome, and however close the breech might be 
iitted, the gas would without the case, escape at the moment 
of firing, and find a way through the joints of the best fitting 
breech ; its doing so was owing to the expansion of the 
metal. The happy idea of making the cartridge contain its 
own ignition greatly contributed to the success of the inven- 
tion. Strictly speaking, the cartridge case is the breech and 
nipple of the gun, the cap being inside of the barrel ; the 
brass striking-pin becomes the nipple ; thus the objection to 
conducting the flash from the outside to the inside of the 
barrel is overcome. 

The cartridge invented and used by Lefaucheux is still the 
same as that now commonly used in pin-fire guns. It was 
invented in 1836, and made of paper, with a metal base. The 
cap was placed into a chamber, with its cup end pointing 
upwards ; a loose brass rod projected from the cup of the 
caps upwards through the cartridge case, and was struck 
by the hammer and driven down in the cup, thus causing 
the discharge. 

From this cartridge may be dated the success of the 
modern breech-loader, for, by its expansion, at the moment 
■of discharge, escape of gas at the breech is rendered im- 
possible ; though, if not well made, or heavily loaded, they, 
in common with all pin-fire cartridges, will burst at the pin- 
hole and allow the escape of gas through it. 

The greatest advantage gained by the central-fire principle 
is the non-escape of gas at the breech ; the next is cleanli- 
ness — there is no pin-hole in the barrels to let in the wet. 
The pin-hole is a great objection, as the pin must fit in the 
notch in the barrels, before the barrels can be closed ; in 
very rapid loading, and during excitement in shooting, or 
when after dangerous game in wild countries, this would 
cause delay in fitting the cartridges properly. The central- 
fire plan greatly facilitates loading and unloading. It is 
often difficult to extract a tight-fitting cartridge from a pin- 
gun, especially when the gun is foul ; this is another cause 
of delay. The cartridges are not so handy to carry, on ac- 
count of the projecting pin, as the central-fire. 

The Lefaucheux cartridge was most unsuitable for a mili- 



OF BIFLE PBACTICE. 29' 

tary rifle, on account of the projecting pin. About 1860 the 
rim-fire cartridge was successfully used. 

The solid brass-drawn cartridge was first used in the 
United States. That which contained the ignition in the 
rim proved, upon trial, to be unsatisfactory, on account of 
the frequency of misfire, and liability to split and expand at 
the base. Moreover, it had the disadvantage that the cop- 
per shell could not be re-formed or re-loaded after the con- 
tents had been discharged. 

With the rim-fire ammunition, as soon as the charge of 
powder exceeds 40 or 45 grains, there is danger of the shell 
bursting in the flange and allowing the gas to escape. The 
next step, therefore, in advance, was the use of the central- 
fire, which has a solid base the thickness of the rim, and the 
flange is reinforced within by an inside cup. With this car- 
tridge we are able to use a heavy charge of powder. Ity 
concentrating the percussion composition in the centre of 
the head, the quantity used is reduced to less than one- 
fourth of what is required to prime the entire circumference 
in the rim-fire, and this small quantity is so much better 
protected as not to be at all liable to accidental explosion. 

The use of this cartridge, however, with the heavy charge 
of powder and paper lining of the bullet, was subsequent to 
the war of the Bebellion, and will receive further notice. 

The advantages of the metallic cartridge were its com- 
pleteness and simplicity, being either self-primed or capped 
with great facility, and used as a whole in loading ; its 
strength and safety, withstanding the roughest usage, and 
thoroughly protecting the powder and fulminate ; its accu- 
racy, because of the coincidence of the axis of the bore and 
the bullet ; and, added to these, the impossibility of using 
more than one cartridge at a time. It is impervious to 
moisture, and may be even used after immersion in water. 



CHAPTEK III. 

BULLETS. 



The first method employed in loading the rifle consisted in 
forcing the bullet (spherical), either naked or covered with a 
greased patchin, down the muzzle, with blows of the mallet, 



30 THIRTY-FIVE YEARS 

or with the rammer. This manner of loading deformed com- 
pletely the forepart of the ball, and greatly increased its 
length, at the same time rendering the process of loading 
very slow. 

The second method was loading at the breech. This con- 
sisted in giving to the part of the bore at the breech a diameter 
somewhat greater than the other part of the barrel, and 
placing in it a ball larger than the diameter of the barrel, 
bnt fitting the breech. This ball, under the action of the 
powder, was forced into the grooves, and had to follow them, 
thus getting its motion of rotation. This manner of loading 
was simple and easy ; but the complication of mechanism 
the breech-loader requires, and the escape of gas at the 
joint, were inconveniences that prevented it from being gen- 
erally applicable to arms for troops. 

The third was to load by the muzzle. It consisted in 
giving to the ball a circular rim, which, fitting into the 
grooves (the rifle had but two), followed them, and thus had 
communicated a motion of rotation. This method did not 
destroy completely the windage, neither did it give any 
notable increase of accuracy. 

None of the above methods fulfilled the conditions required 
of an arm for soldiers; the first being too slow, the second 
offering breech-loading defects, and the third not giving any 
marked superiority over the musket. The rifle, as an arm 
for infantry, would probably have fallen into disuse in 
Europe, and been forgotten there, had not a new method of 
loading been discovered by M. Delvigne, an infantry (French) 
officer of the Royal Guard. 

The universal weapon for infantry had been the smooth- 
bore musket. In England, the renowned " Brown Bess," for 
a century and a half, was the regulation arm for the British 
forces. It was slightly modified for land and sea service, but 
the difference was trifling. It weighed 11 lbs. 2 oz. The 
barrel was 3 feet 6 inches long, and the bore .753 inches, or 
11 gauge. The bullet used was about three sizes smaller 
than the bore, and was wrapped up in a loosely fitting patch, 
which formed a cartridge. The service charge was 4J 
drachms (122 grains), with a bullet of 490 grains. 

The calibre of the United States musket was .69. Its ser- 
vice charge was 110 grains, and weight of ball 400 grains. 
The initial velocity was 1,500 feet per second. 



OF RIFLE PRACTICE. 31 

The method of Delvigne for loading the rifle with a 
spherical ball, consisted in screwing into the lower end of the 
barrel a hollow breech, the diameter of which w T as a little 
less than the diameter of the barrel, forming thus a chamber 
in the bottom of the piece, in which the powder could be de- 
posited, and a projection, or shoulder, upon which the car- 
tridge could rest. The cartridge was composed of a sabot of 
wood, hollowed out spherically on its upper side, and having 
about its inferior part a patchin of greased serge. The 
sabot, resting on the shoulders of the chamber, gave to the 
ball a fixed support, which permitted the person loading to 
flatten it slightly, by means of a few gentle taps of the ram- 
mer, thus forcing the lead into the grooves ; the shoulders of 
the chamber prevented the ball from penetrating it, and thus 
made its expansion into the grooves regular ; the patchin 
served to prevent the inconvenience of fouling ; and, finally, 
the grease, melted by the inflammation of the powder, 
formed, with the residuum, an unctuous paste which offered 
no resistance to the descent of the ball in loading, and which 
was, in part, thrown out by the discharge. 

The contrivance of Captain Delvigne, without the sabot, 
was first introduced in 1826, and tried two years in the 
Garde Roy ale, during the expedition to Africa, in 1830, and 
was found still defective. The edge of the chamber on w r hich 
the bullet lodged, not being opposed to the direction of the 
blow with the ramrod, did not form a sufficient support upon 
which to flatten the bullet, whilst, after a few rounds, a foul- 
ness formed in the chamber and on the outside of it; some- 
times, also, a portion of the charge of powder, when poured 
in, having lodged on the contraction, cushioned, and caused 
the bullet, instead of resting on the edge of the chamber, to 
rest on the powder, so that it was no longer really forced into 
the grooves ; consequently, the latter, becoming foul, could 
not, in their turn, any longer act effectively on the bullet. 
Besides, the military authorities in those days would not 
hear of an elongated projectile; hence arose another objec- 
tion ; for, if the spherical bullet w 7 as rammed too hard, part 
of the lead was forced into the chamber, thereby lengthening 
the projectile and throwing its centre of gravity out, so that 
it turned over on the axis of its smallest amount of inertia, 
and the accuracy became greatly affected at 220 yards. 



32 THIRTY-FIVE YEARS 

M. Del vine's fundamental principles were, however, too 
important to be passed over with neglect, and his rifle was 
submitted to an artillery committee for further improvement. 
By this committee (of which Lieutenant-Colonel de Pon- 
charra, of the engineers, was president), greased cartridges 
were adopted, which, introduced with the bullet, cleaned the 
groove each time ; and the ball was further made to rest on 
a wooden cup, or sabot, which, fixed to it, rested on the top 
of the chamber. 

The Poncharra-Delvigne rifle, although answering exceed- 
ingly well in the practice carried on within France and Bel- 
gium, in 1839, was still objectionable as a war weapon, from 
the complication in the ammunition, causing the latter to be 
procured with difficult} 7 in the field. M. Delvigne then pro- 
posed a rifle musket ; but, about the same time, the com- 
mandant of the French artillery (Thierry), presented another 
model of a rifle, from which cylindro-conical bullets were to 
be fired ; and these M. Delvigne had proposed should be flat 
at the bottom, the body cylindrical, and a conical point. 
Although tried on a large scale, they were not found to 
answer with the Thierry rifle, and were replaced by spherical 
bullets. 

Colonel Thouvenin, of the same service, then endeavored 
to overcome the difficulties which the Delvigne rifle pre- 
sented, by fixing at the bottom of the bore an iron shank,, 
having an axis identical with that of the bore, and around 
which was placed the powder; the shank, stopping the 
bullet, allowed it to be struck in such a manner as to cause 
the lead to penetrate into the grooves. But here another 
defect appeared. The pillar occupying a large portion of 
the centre of the barrel, and the charge being placed in the 
annular space surrounding it, the main force of the powder, 
instead of taking effect in the axis of the piece and in the 
centre of gravity in the projectile, acted only on that 
spherical portion of it which lies over the annular chamber, 
and thus the bullet, receiving, obliquely, the impulse of the 
charge, was propelled with diminished force. Colonel 
Thouvenen's rifle was thus about to share the fate of M. 
Delvigne's, when it was considered advisable to try it in con- 
nection with the elongated bullet already proposed. 

Captain Delvigne, as we have seen, had proposed the 



OF KIFLE PRACTICE. 33 

adoption of lengthened bullets, consisting of a cylinder ter- 
minated by a cone, which was subsequently replaced by an 
ogive, and he had further obtained a patent, dated 21st 
June, 1841, amongst other matter, "For having hollowed the 
base of my cylindro-conical bullet, not only for motives men- 
tioned in the descriptive memoir, given with my demand for 
a patent, but, besides, to obtain its expansion, by the effect 
of the gases produced through the ignition of the powder. 
By this means the efforts of the powder itself, which formerly 
caused spherical bullets to deviate from the grooves, now 
contributes to force the bullets of my system more firmly 
into them." 

In a paper published by M. Delvigne, in the '• Spectator 
Militaire," of August, 1813, we find : " But during these in- 
vestigations, I made an important discovery, which was, that 
the gas, produced by the ignition of the powder, rushing into 
the vacuum formed at the base of the bullet, expanded it and 
forced it into the grooves. I here give the idea — a new one, 
as I think — and recommend its application to such as occupy 
themselves with the effect of fire-arms and powder. The 
following, however, must be avoided : if the hollow is too 
deep, the expansion is too great, and the consequent friction 
enormous ; sometimes, even, the gas will traverse the bullet, 
and, consequently, the projectile is deprived of a propor- 
tion ary amount of velocity ; if too small, the expansion does 
not take place." 

Captain Minie, an instructor in the school of Vincennes, 
merely filled up this hollow with an iron cup. This pre- 
vented the gas forcing its way through the lead, and the 
iron pressing on the lead increased the expansion. 

It was then considered that a practical and definite solu- 
tion had been obtained, which would enable soldiers to be 
armed with a more useful weapon, firing a cylindro-ogival 
bullet, having a groove in the cylindrical part, intended to 
receive a greased patch ; at one time this was thought to be 
useless. People were then surprised to find that the firing 
lost much of its accuracy, and the groove was replaced, 
when it was discovered that any variation in its shape and 
in its position materially affected the practice. Not only 
variations in the groove caused great alteration in the accu- 
3 



34 THIRTY-FIVE YEARS 

racy of the fire, but any modification bearing on the trunk 
of the cone, in rear of the projectile (for it was not quite a 
cylinder), or on the fore ogive, altered the conditions of the 
firing, so that the groove became, as it were, lost in the 
midst of many other principles, the functions of which were 
as much unknown. These theoretical considerations served, 
however, as a point of departure for further investigations. 

Captain Tamisier, another instructor in the school of Vin- 
cennes, intrusted with following up the facts, and connecting 
them by theory, had not ceased, for several years, concen- 
trating his entire attention on the subject. 

The groove had deprived the bullet of all geometrical form. 
M. Tamisier wished to study the simple form, and tried the 
pure cylindro-conical shape. He successively varied the 
length of the cylindrical part and the angle of the cone. 

The difference between a conical and cylindro-conical 
bullet, in practice, is found in the fact that the former will 
not naturally lie in the barrel as it should do, so that the 
axis of the one may be coincident with the axis of the other, 
but will lie at an angle, and, on leaving the barrel, when 
inclined to one side, the inflamed gunpowder is enabled to 
escape at the muzzle, on one side of the ball, before the other 
is out of the barrel, thus giving the bullet a tendency to 
deviate from its true path. 

Having found that these variations greatly influenced the 
accuracy of the firing, Captain Tamisier sought out the 
reason. The conclusion he came to was that, to increase 
the precision of elongated bullets, it was necessary to ascer- 
tain the means of giving them a point of resistance, as far as 
possible, behind their centre of gravity. His first endeavor 
was to carry this centre of gravity to the furthest possible 
point forward ; but to effect this, he was compelled to flatten 
the fore end of the bullet, which had the disadvantage of in- 
creasing the resistance of the air to the movement of projec- 
tion. On reflection, he was led to adopt another plan for recti- 
fying the path of the bullet through each instant of projec 
tion ; and this was by creating, at the posterior end, resistances 
which should act in case the axis of the bullet did not coin- 
cide with the direction of motion, and this was carried out 
by cutting upon the cylindrical part, instead of one as many 



OF RIFLE PRACTICE. do 

circular grooves of .28 inches in depth as that cylindrical, or, 
rather, slightly conical, part could contain. An increased 
precision of firing, was the immediate result. 

It is well to remark that the idea of carrying the centre of 
gravity forward, had not escaped the penetrating mind of 
Bobbins, who proposed to overcome the deviation of spherical 
bullets, by making them of an egg-like form, "For, if such a 
bullet," says he (Mathem. Tracts, vol. 1, p. 338), " hath its 
shorter axis made to fit the piece, and it be placed in the 
barrel with its smaller end downwards, then it will acquire, 
by the rifles, a rotation around its larger axis ; and its centre 
of gravity lying nearer to its fore part than its hind part, its 
larger axis will be constantly forced, by the resistance of the 
air, into the line of its flight ; as we see that, by the same 
means, arrows constantly lie in the line of their direction, 
however that line be incurvated." 

Colonel Beaufov, in a very excellent little work published 
in 1812, remarks upon this : " Several experiments. have been 
tried with the egg-shaped ball, recommended by Mr. Robbins, 
as preferable to the spherical form usually adopted, the 
general results of which are nearly as follows : At long dis- 
tances — that is, from 300 to 600 yards — when fired with a gun 
of T G ¥ of an inch bore, they were found much less liable to 
deviation than at 200 yards and under, with this peculiarit}-, 
that in windy weather, whereas balls are usually driven to 
leeward of the object, these had a diametrically opposite 
effect. It was found, however, that these balls were subject 
to such occasional random ranges, as completely baffled the 
judgment of the shooter to counteract their irregularit}\ 
Their deviations to windward, most likely, arose from the 
effect of the wind on the after part, which, as being the 
lightest end of the two, was driven more to leeward, and, 
consequently, acted as a rudder to throw the foremost end 
up in the wind." 

That these grooves have the effect of improving the- accu- 
racy of firing when the bullets are not perfectly homogeneous, 
is certain ; but the British committee on small arms justly 
considered that, owing to the careful way in which the bullets 
are made in England, by compression, these grooves might 
be dispensed with, and also that such a form might be given 



36 THIRTY-FIVE YEARS 

to M. Delvigne's hollow at the base of the bullet as would 
obviate the use of the iion cup. 

Balls were made by pressure in England, in 1838. Jn 
France, however, at the time of which we are writing, they 
were molded. 

With these objects in view, Lord Hardioge, in 1852, re- 
quested the leading English gun-makers to lay before the 
Small Arms Committee such suggestions as they might con- 
sider would effectually improve the projectile then in use, as 
well as the arm. No bullet, however, was submitted which 
was not a compound one — that is to say, having either a 
separate plug, or an iron or copper cup, to produce the re- 
quired expansion — except one, by Wilkinson, of Pall Mall, 
which had, however, the defect of losing its accuracy when 
made up into cartridge, as two very deep grooves, round its 
lower part, closed up, by the force of the powder, and nipped 
the paper round it, and held pieces of it during its flight, 
thus causing very wild practice beyond 300 yards. But, 
after the several trials weie over, a bullet was submitted by 
Mr. Pritchett, of St. James Street, consisting of a simple 
cylindro-conoidal projectile, having a small hollow at the 
base. The expansion of this bullet is obtained by its being 
made of such a length, in proportion to its diameter, that the 
force of the powder, when ignited, acting suddenly against 
the base, driving it up slightly before the inertia of the point 
of the bullet is overcome, thus causing it to expand through- 
out its cylindrical part, and more especially at the shoulder, 
the most important part being directly over the centre of 
gravity, the hollow at the base being more with the view of 
lightening the bullet, and throwing its centre of gravity for- 
ward, than to obtain expansion by»its means. 

The shooting of this bullet, up to 800 yards, was found 
superior to any that had yet been tried, when loaded ac- 
cording to the usual Minie style, with greased cartridges 
reversing the bullet. A satisfactory solution was then sup- 
posed to be arrived at ; but, owing to the difficulty of loading 
after fouling, which was so seriously complained of in the 
Crimea, the whole question of the projeciile was reopened, 
and a bullet was substituted with a deeper hollow, and a 
wooden cup, which became the regulation service bullet. 



OF RIFLE PRACTICE. 37 

The writer from whom we have been quoting (Captain 
Jervis, in 1859) goes on to say : " I have carefully abstained, 
throughout this work, from offering any opinion of mine own 
upon the various suggestions or trials which have been made 
at different times, respecting any part of the musket rifle ; 
but as this bullet, with a wooden cup, is a decidedly retro- 
gressive movement in the science of gunnery, I shall make 
one or two remarks. 

" When the Crimean war broke out, the practical applica- 
tion of the theory of projectiles was in its infancy, and 
numerous features remained to be demonstrated, and, amongst 
others, 1st, the amount of windage required ; 2d, the manufac- 
turing of the cartridge. Now, as, according to the theory of 
expansion, there was only the difference of .01 allowed be- 
tween the width of the bullet and the diameter of the bore, 
and even this space was taken up by the paper of the car- 
tridge, which was greased around the bullet so as to lubri- 
cate — that is to say, clean the barrel each time it was loaded ; 
but, nevertheless, it was found that, in hot weather, fouling 
would take place to considerable extent, and at the same 
time, the grease around the cartridge evaporating from the 
same cause, the bullet , after some twenty rounds, got forced 
through the paper of the cartridge, and after some rounds 
could not be forced down at all. This was a serious ques- 
tion, and, after due deliberation, the fault was laid to the 
Pritchett bullet, and the Minie was restored, a boxwood 
plug being substituted for the iron cup. But an important 
fact had been overlooked, which was, that owing to the cup, 
the paper of the new cartridge was always carefully tied at 
the base of the bullet, to prevent the plug falling out, and 
that it was this tie (termed a choke) which prevented the 
bullet forcing its w r ay through the paper, and that, had it 
been continued with the Pritchett bullet, it might have 
answered as well. However, this new projectile did not do 
away with the real difficulty of loading when the barrel 
fouled ; and it has been found necessary to diminish the 
diameter of the bullet to .551, a wise and judicious step, 
which, though it may slightly affect target practice, will 
afford most important results in the field, where facility of 
loading is of paramount importance." 



38 THIRTY-FIVE YEARS 

These are sagacious remarks, and there is no doubt but 
that, with the present cartridge, the Pritchett bullet even 
now would make good work at tho butts, and prove to be a 
good military bullet. But it is necessary to pass on to 
other considerations, to see the Pritchett bullet experimented 
on unsatisfactorily by our own army officers. We quote 
now from them : 

The rifle with the stem (carabine a tige), model of 1846, 
had a calibre of .676 inches. Its ball weighed 717 grains, 
and its charge of powder was 648 grains. In the essential 
requisites of length of range and accuracy, it far excelled all 
arms heretofore tried. At 1,421 yards, the cylindro-conical 
ball struck the target point first, passing through two targets 
of inch poplar plank, and indenting the third. 

The rifle a tige, as a weapon, seemed brought to perfec- 
tion, or in other words, the range, accuracy and simplicity of 
this arm seemed as perfect as possible, when a new invention, 
by Captain Minie, gives us not a greater range or accuracy, 
but greater simplicity in construction and loading. The ball 
was fired from the same rifle, the tige being removed. The 
report, from which these items are extracted, was made in 
Paris, in 1851. 

In England, in 1852, the following experiments were made 
with small arms : 

The following principal gun-makers offered arms to the 
Master-General of Ordnance, which, as well as the Minie 
rifle adopted in 1851, and the regulation two-grooved rifle, 
were experimented on, being fired from a frame arranged for 
the purpose. All the makers proposed bores and bullets as- 
follows : 

Mr. Purdy 650 inch bore, or 17 balls to the pound- 
Mr. Lovell 625 " 18 " 

Mr. Greener 621 " 19 " 

Mr. Eichards 577 " 24 " 

Mr. Lancaster 540 " 30 " 

Mr. Wilkinson 530 " 31 " 

Eegulation Minie. . . 702 " 13 " 

Brunswick 704 " 13 " 

Distances for fall of ball, 4 feet 7 J inches. 



OF RIFLE PRACTICE. 



39 



Yards. 

Lancaster 194 

Lovell (heavy ball) 190 

Lovell (light ball) 176 

Wilkinson (naked ball) 185 

Purely (plug ball) 180 

Regulation Minie 177 

Brunswick (rifle) . 173 

Wilkinson (cartridge) 172 



Feet. 




Inches. 
11 





5 


1 


H 




2 


Q 3 

°TO 

4 


1 


7 





2h 


1 


6* 




Comparison of Percussion Musket of 1842 with Minie 
Rifle of 1851 : 

























.a a 


=> a 


05 

a-* ,5 
S 3 


» 0> 


0Q 

o5 £ 

s g 


•a ii 


to 

<a "g 


is 5 

3 * 


3 

IS 


00 


a 
o5 » 

§ 33 


P >H 


a w 


« n 


S o 


tf o 


^ o 


w o 


an 


tfH 


a Ph 


M Ph 


100 


7 


10 


48 


68 


94 


111 


149 


189 


74.5 


94.5 


200 


3 


9 


20 


47 


62 


104 


85 


160 


42.5 


80. 


300 


4 


6 


20 


32 


17 


72 


32 


110 


16. 


55. 


400 


2 


5 





29 


7 


71 


9 


105 


4.5 


52.5 



40 THIRTY-FIVE YEAES 

Returning to the trial of arms that was made at Harper's 
Perry, in 1853 and 1854, we shall first record the result of 
the trial of the smooth-bore percussion musket then in general 
use. 

" To give the spherical ball heretofore used a fair trial, on 
equal terms, a new musket of the exact calibre was fitted 
with the same breech sight, or guide, used on the rifles a 
tige, and fired from the same rest, and with every precaution 
necessary to insure accuracy. 

The annexed table of the firing shows that, at 300 yards, 
the musket is not as accurate as the new rifle bullet at 
double the distance ; and at 400 yards, the fire of the musket 
is so uncertain as to be useless : 

Target Practice at 300 Yards. Percussion Musket, 
Service Charge. 



"5 

c3 
£H 
«H 

o 

<s 
s 

3d 

30x15 


o 

A 

6 

25 


42.04 


"3 d 
sg-2 

^ s » 
70.75' 


as.2 REMARKS. 

87.06 12 per cent, missed target. 


At 400 Yards. 


u 

03 

En 

o 

N 

30x15 


o 

d 

25 


S-l 

HI 

51.90 


{J2 Mean 
■ Horizontal 

jx* Deviation. 


P |.2 REMARKS. 

1-1 

68.20 80 per cent, missed target. 



To compare the spherical ball with the new elongated ball 
in the rifle, a supply of rifle cartridges was procured at the 
Washington Arsenal, and fired from the same rifle used in 
the trials with the elongated ball. The annexed table gives 
the result of these trials, which show that the limit of accu- 
racy with the spherical ball is between 200 and 300 yards ; 
over this latter distance it fails entirely. 

The regulation rifle thus used had a diameter of bore of 
0.54 ; of barrel at breech, 1.15 ; at muzzle, 0.90 ; with a length 
of 33 inches, and a weight of 5 lbs. 5 oz. The length of the 
arm was 48.8 inches, and weight 9 lbs. 10J oz. It had 7 
grooves, 11 inches wide and .02 in depth at breech, and same 



OF RIFLE PRACTICE. 



41 



depth at muzzle. Its twist was regular, with one turn in 
6 feet. 

The weight of the service charge of the regulation musket 
was 110 grains, and weight of bullet 397.5 grains, and the 
initial velocity of the bullet was 1,500 feet per second. 

The weight of the service charge of the regulation rifle was 
70 grains, and the weight of its spherical bullet was 217 
grains. Its initial velocity was 1,750 feet per second. 

Target Practice with Eegulation Rifle, Service Charge, 
Spherical Bullets. 



o 

a; -i-3 

-2 3 

5 


s 

o 

33 


o 
d 


fl § o 

S a.S 


S 5.2 


a) a 


150 yds. 


8x8 


25 


7.24 


6.16 


10.53 


200 " 


8x8 


25 


12.13 


13.27 


19.67 


300 " 


8x8 


25 


15.58 


32.03 


39. 



remarks. 



7 shots in bullseye. 
3 missed target. 
1 shot in bullseye. 
19 shots missed target. 
76 per cent 



Target Practice with Sharp's Carbine. Table of Mean 
Deviations. Target, 8x8 Feet. 



o 

P 


03 
O 

00 -d 

d 


£5*3,0 


» s .3 

So 


3p 


■8 

a: -J 
GO 


DATE. 




150 yds. 


25 


10.12 


7.71 


13.78 


1 


Feb'y 14, 


1854. 


200 " 


20 


15.08 


9.15 


19.95 


1 


March 6, 


1854. 


300 " 


20 


23.96 


7.91 


27.29 


4 


March 9, 


1854. 



Be marks. 

The bullets are too large for the diameter of the chamber 
of the barrel. After being fired four or five rounds, it was 
found impossible to force the cartridge in without bursting it 
and spilling the powder. The firing was continued by 
resorting to the expedient of separating the bullet from the 
cartridge, forcing it into the chamber with a stick, and after- 
wards pouring in the powder. The slide frequently became 
very difficult to move. When the arm was taken in the shop 
to be cleaned, after the firing was concluded, the slide could 
not be moved at all, until thoroughly soaked in oil to soften 



42 



THIRTY-FIVE YEAES 



the dirt around it. The paper of the cartridge is always left 
behind in the chamber, after each shot, and is frequently on 
fire when the succeeding cartridge is inserted. To remove 
all likelihood of danger from this, the paper remaining in 
the chamber, after each shot, was removed before inserting 
another cartridge. 

Experiments conducted for a couple of years, at Harper's 
Ferry and Springfield Arsenals, which embraced the promi- 
nent European rifles and bullets, in July, 1855, the following 
calibres were established : 

.69 inch . Eifle-musket, model 1822, altered. 

.69 " " " 1842, " 

.58 " " " 1855, " 

.58 " Eifle, " 1841, new. 

.58 "... " " 1855, " 

.58 " Pistol-carbine, " 1855, " 

Trajectories. 



Yards. 


New Rifle-musket. 
Bullet, 501) grs. ; 
Powder, 60 grs. 


Altered Rifle. 
Bullet, 500 grs. ; 
Powder, 60 grs. 


Altered Musket. 
Bullet, 730 grs ; 
Powder, 70 grs. 


200 


0.20 


0.25 


0.30 


300 


.40 


.50 


1. 


400 


1.05 


1.10 


1.30 


500 


1.30 


1.45 


1.50 


600 


2.00 


2.10 


2.15 


700 


2.20 


2.35 


2.50 


800 


2.50 


3.00 


3.15 


900 


3.30 


3.40 


4.10 


1000 


4.15 


4.30 


4.50 



Penetration of Seasoned White Pine Plank, 1 inch Thick 
lh inches Apart. 





New Rifle-musket. 
Yards. Bullet, 500 grs. ; 
Powder, 60 grs. 


Altered Rifle. 
Bullet, 500 grs. ; 
Powder, 60 grs. 


Altered Musket. 
Bullet, 730 grs. ; 
Powder, 70 grs. 


200 11 


n 




10* 


600 6J 


5| 




6^ 


1000 3£ 


3 




3i 


Initial velocity 963 


914 




880 



OF RIFLE PEACTICE. 



43 



Table of Mean Deviations foe New Rifle-Musket. Tar- 
get 16x24. Weight of Ball, 500 Grains. Weight of 
Powder, 60 Grains. 



100 y 


ards. . 


. . . 1.9 inches 


vertical. 


1.5i 


niches 


hor 


izontaL 


200 


it 


.. 4.4 


i 


a 


3.8 


a 




it 


300 


a 


. . . 5.5 


( 


a 


5.1 


a 




a 


400 


a 


... 9.1 


n 


a 


8.8 


a 




it 


500 


a 


...13.6 


t 


a 


17.1 


it 




a 


600 


a 


...22.2 


u 


a 


14.6 


a 




a 


700 


a 


...30.6 


t 


it 


14.4 


tt 




a 


800 


it 


. . .39.6 


a 


a 


21. 


a 




it 


900 


ti 


...34.8 


EC 


it 


21.4 


a 




a 



Points of Trajectory New Rifle-Musket, U. S. Dis- 
tance, 200 Xabds. Weight of Ball, 500 Grains. Weight 
of Powder, 60 Grains. 

Height, inches 14.5 17.7 19.3 19.6 17.5 10. 

Distance, yards ... . 50 75 100 125 150 175 



Points of Trajectory of Altered Musket, U. S. Dis- 
tance, 200 Yards. Weight of Ball, 730 Grains. Weight 
of Powder, 70 Grains. 



Height, inches . . 


..16.2 


18.8 


19.7 


20.9 


17.5 


10.4 


Distance, yards . . 


.. 50 


75 


100 


125 


150 


175 



Points of Trajectory Harper's Ferry Rifle, U. S. Dis- 
tance, 500 Yards. Weight of Ball, 400 Grains. Weight 
of Powder, 50 Grains. 

Height, inches J85 UJ. L45 L50 J97 

Distance, yards .... 100 200 250 300 400 5C0 

This was the rifle made by Remington for the spherical 
ball of 219 grains, and weight of powder, 70 grains. Altered 
as above to use an elongated ball. 



44 



THIRTY-FIVE YEARS 



The highest point of the 100 yards trajectory for the pistol 
carbine was 12 inches ; and the highest point of the 300 
yards trajectory for the rifle-musket was 40 inches. 

A strong wind blowing perpendicularly to the direction of 
the rifle-musket ball, will deflect it from its course 12 feet in 
1,000 yards, about 3 feet in 500 yards, and about J foot in 
200 yards. 



Trajectory of the Enfield (English) Rifle at 100 Yards. 
Weight of Bullet, 520 Grains ; of Powder, 62 1 Grains. 



Distance from Muzzle, yards 50 75 100 

Height of Bullet, inches 9 6f 

At 200 Yards. 

Distance, yards 50 75 100 125 150 175 200 

Height, inches Hi 14| 19 21 20i 10£ 

At 300 Yards. 

Distance, yards. .50 75 100 125 150 175 200 225 250 275 300 

Height, inches... 17i 26i 33 40 & 42^ 43 39 32 24 14 



Mean Variations Eeferred to Mean Point of Impact of 
100 Shots Fired. 





Yds. 


Yds. 


Yds. 


Yds. 


Yds. 


Yds. 


Yds. 


Yds. 


Distances . . . 


161 


273 


382 


437 


54G 


656 


765 


874 




Inches. 


Inches. 


Inches. 


Inches. 


Inches. 


Inches. 


Inches. 


Inches. 


Minie 

A tige 


24.40 

24.80 


33.87 
38.20 


46.37 
59.37 


47.63 
48 03 


59.44 

69.68 


104.74 
115.35 


109.44 
137.40 


129.11 
137.40 



In the month of June, 1849, these new balls were thoroughly 
experimented upon at Yincennes. All the comparative trials 
of this bullet, and the elongated one with the " a' tige" rifle, 
were made, firing off-hand at different distances. 

The graduation of the hausse for the Minie rifle was not 
quite so high for the same distance as for the " a' tige." 



OF RIFLE PKACTICE. 



45 



Comparison of the Infantry Musket and Musket Altered 

"A' Tige." 



Distances 
Dimensions 

Yds. Ft. 


to aud 
of Target. 

In. Ft. In. 


No. of 
Marksmen. 


No. of 
Balls fired. 


Infantry 
Musket. 

Hits. 


Infantry 
Musket 
altered 
to Rifle 
"A Tige.' 
Hits. 


164 


6 


6x 1 10i 


15 


60 


18 


37 


218 


6 


6x 4 8 J 


15 


60 


21 


45 


437 


6 


6x 6 6 


15 


60 


3 


31 


656 


6 


6x13 


15 


60 


3 


25 


874 


6 


6x19 


15 


60 


3 


14 





Time of Flight. 




Time of Flight. 


Range. 








Range. 








* Rifle 


Wallpiece. 


t Rifle 


Rifle 


Wallpiece 


Rifle 


Yards. 


1842. 


1842. 


A' Tige. 


Yards. 1842. 


1842. 


A' Tige. 




Seconds. 


Seconds. 


Seconds. 


Seconds. 


Seconds. 


Seconds" 


165 


0.42 


0.46 


0.50 


765 .... 




2.97 


218 


0.74 


0.75 


0.69 


874 




3.67 


328 


1.29 


1.37 


1.13 


984 ! . . . . 




4.35 


437 


1.75 


1.73 


2.44 


1093 






5.07 


546 


2.64 


2.53 


1.86 


1202 






5.81 


656 




4.40 


2.37 


| 1312 


.... 




6.71 



* Round ball; 517 grains ; initial velocity, 1,408 feet per second. 

t Cylindro-conical ball ; 725 grains ; initial velocity, 1,023 feet per second. 

The annexed table gives the mean results of many trials 
made at Vincennes. The piece was loaded with as great 
regularity and care as possible, and was fired from a stand 
which held it at each discharge in exactly the same direction. 

Mean Deviations of Carbine A' Tige. 



Distances 
of the 
Target. 


Mean 
Horizontal 
Deviation. 


Mean 

Vertical 

Deviation. 


Distances 
of the 
Target. 


Mean 
Horizontal 
Deviation. 


Mean 

Vertical 

Deviation. 


Yards. 


Inches. 


Inches. 


Yards. 


Inches. 


Inches. 


165 


4.72 


5.11 


656 


21.26 


22.04 


218 


7.87 


8.26 


765 


24.40 


29.52 


328 


11.02 


11.81 


874 


29.52 


39.37 


437 


12.59 


13.77 


984 


37.40 


59.51 


546 


17.32 


17.71 


1093 


49.21 


82.67 



46 THIRTY-FIVE YEARS 

Mean Deviations of Musket Altered to Rifle A' Tioe. 



Distances 
of the 
Target. 


Mean 
Horizontal 
Deviation. 


Mean 

Vertical 

Deviation. 


Distances 
of the 
Target. 


Mean 
Horizontal 
Deviation. 


Mean 
Vertical 
Deviation, 


Yards. 


Inches. 


Inches. 


Yards. 


Inches. 


Inches. 


164 


5.90 


6.30 


546 


19.29 


20.86 


279 


9.44 


9.84 


656 


24.40 


26.37 


382 


13. 


13.77 


765 


30.31 


35.43 


437 


14.96 


16.14 


874 


37.40 


47.24 



Shortly after the introduction of the Brunswick (belted 
ball) rifle, the Minie rifle was produced, and his principle 
adopted by the British government, who gave M. Minie 
c£20,000 for his invention. 



ustotie 



In closing the space allotted to the first part of this work on rifle prac- 
tice, it is well to remark that the next number will continue the descrip- 
tion of the Whitworth, Lancaster and Jacob bullets, which were all 
brought out anterior to our civil war. It will then take up a resume of 
the lessons taught by that war, and commence a description of Peabody, 
Remington, Winchester, Sharp, and other rifles, and their work, which 
will be continued throughout the third number, taking in a description 
of the improvements in shells, and more particularly the Berdan shell 
and bullet. The fourth number will be devoted to the express and ele- 
phant rifles, and incidentally to the choke-bore gun which was preemi- 
nently an American invention. The fifth number will be devoted to the 
development of the match and military rifles, particular^ at Creedmoor, 
Dollymount and Wimbledon The last number will be devoted to the 
improved cartridges, which logically grow out of this discussion, and to 
their tabular performances, when fired from different weapons — from 
the elegant match rifle down to the cheapest form of military rifle. 
These cartridges for military purposes will be of three kinds. 

1st. A cartridge, to be fired from a rifle, Avith the ordinary fixed sights, 
containing a very high charge of powder and a light bullet, to be used 
within a range of 500 yards, with a very low trajectory and unsurpassable 
accuracy, extreme range 1,800 yards. 

2d. A cartridge, with less powder, but heavy bullet, to be fired from 
the same rifle, with a fine sight, which can readily be attached to or 
detached therefrom, which will cover from 500 to 1,500 yards with 
extreme accuracy, extreme range beyond two miles. 

3d. A cartridge, containing a heavy explosive bullet, to be fired from 
the same rifle, with a range of two miles. 

The elliptical targets and bulls-eyes ordered to be used in the army 
will receive particular attention. It is an understood fact that they are 
rendered necessary by the excess of vertical over horizontal discrepancies 
in the use of the Springfield rifle, a fact which may be verified by a 
glance at the tables which have been already introduced ; and a fact 
that will always be established by using 70 grains of powder in any rifle 
at long range ; it is also an undoubted fact that the Springfield bullets 



48 

differ in their initial velocities from ten to fifteen feet a second, because 
the bullets of match rifles have been found to vary more than that by- 
Greener's experiments ; yet it is also a fact established by the records of 
Creedmoor, of the match for the Leech Cup, on July 4, 1884, a fact 
which was also witnessed by the writer, who will testify that it was a 
windy and stormy day, that more than half of the rifles engaged in that 
match made full scores at 800 yards, and that one rifle made 43 bulls-eyes 
out of 45 shots, equally distributed at 800, 900 and 1,000 yards. Here, 
though there were varying initial velocities of 25 feet a second, yet there 
was no need of elliptical targets, and if the Springfield rifle could be made 
to contain a cartridge loaded with 110 grains of powder, the necessity for 
elliptical targets for that weapon would disappear. 

A large space will be devoted to the consideration of hollow bullets, 
of which the author has made a specialty. 

Early impressed with the importance of flat trajectories, we have 
sought to realize them from hollow bullets, as only in their use the 
length of bullet and lightness of projectile can be obtained. We have 
seen that they have been in use for a long time, for explosive shells and 
express rifles, but curiously enough they have only been used with light 
twists to the grooves, probably because the superiority of their spinning, 
furnished, with this light rifling, all that would be required for accuracy 
in the short distances, for which they were to be used. It was probably 
supposed that the quick twist of the long-range rifle would deaden the 
velocity, which was the essential thing sought for in an express rifle- 
So we read in Greener's books of 125 yards and 150 yards of point-blank 
range, of the express rifles, conveying the idea that^r-^hisdistance the 
bullet, from its extreme velocity, would keep upon a ka?get without any 
curvature. It is unnecessary to refute this absurd notion, and we dis- 
miss the attempt with the single remark, that in none of the velocities 
of the express bullets, which he has recorded, would the fall of the 
bullet, in 150 yards, be less than one foot measured upon the target, and 
that with this declination, raising the back sight above the front .08 of 
an inch, in the distance of 3 feet between sights, would accomplish this 
point-blank, without a deviation of over 3 inches when aimed at an 
intermediate object. 

As to the statement that hollow bullets, though of unsurpassable 
accuracy at short distances, go wild after traversing a distance of 250 
yards, we have this to say, that they could not have been of a proper 
length or fired from a proper twist. We have them of all sizes and 
weights, and are prepared to state that they can be fired at long range 
with accuracy. Of course, they are varied by the wind more than solid 
balls, but the accuracy of their flight is greater, until we reach, in the 
solid bullet, the prescribed length of three diameters. When we have 
reached this length, the weight of the bullet is too great for flat trajectory 
from a military rifle. 

The material for the successive numbers of this work is prepared, and 
will appear in print as rapidly as circumstances will allow. 



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